The Poll: Catholic hospitals and birth control

The Obama administration, as part of its health-care reform initiative, is set to require employer-provided group health insurance to cover preventive health services, including prescription contraception.

Catholic hospitals, universities and charities are included in this mandate, causing an uproar among Republican Party leaders.

On Long Island, the requirement would affect, among other groups, Catholic Health Services of Long Island, which runs six hospitals in Nassau and Suffolk counties, including St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown and St. Joseph Hospital in Bethpage.

Should Catholic hospitals be required to offer free birth control and morning-after pills in their health-care packages?

2 comments

There appears to be a grievous matter of conscience being suffered by Catholic bishops that involves health-care insurance that covers contraception and freedom of choice of those that work in church affiliated institutions..

Perhaps the bishops might focus their shepherding duties more directly on the good repair and maintenance of the conscience of parishioners within their docent flocks. With the pews at Sunday Mass no longer filled by families of full and half of a dozen children, maybe the teaching on birth control is not being very closely attended to at home.

Any Bishop whose examination of his conscience leaves him in regret over what he now considers negligence of this and other matters will need to seek amends and solace wrapped within the forgiving spirit of the Almighty. Within our freedom of conscience, all of us are left to self-examination of our sins of commission and omissions.

The Church cannot really separate academic theology from social justice. Whatever position the Vatican takes, I think it’s fair to speculate that most Catholics see contraception as a deterrent to abortion. Less contraception equals more abortion. In the context of employer-employee relations, the Church is putting employees in conflict with their own consciences if it puts obstacles in the way to their responsible family planning. It’s easy enough to say, “if you want freedom of choice, don’t work for a Catholic organization,” (I would try to avoid doing so), but people need jobs. As long as the church is willing to act as employer, it should defer to the rights of employees as upheld by the government.